Happy birthday Annabeth!
by Arainbowsandbooks
Summary: it's Annabeth's birthday, and Percy doesn't know what to buy her.


**Percy**

It was a pretty amazing day, so far. I was at the Seaside Village, my mom had dropped me off. I was out looking for a birthday present for Annabeth.

I walked by little restaurants and jewelry stores. I thought about getting Annabeth jewelry… but… you know… Annabeth isn't one for jewelry. Sure, she had earrings sometimes, but she was the monster fighting type of person, not one who obsessed over jewelry and stuff. I stopped by a telescope that was on the railing in front of the sea. I leaned against the railing and looked out, over the water. I breathed in the salty air, inhaling the familiar scent. Usually breathing in sea air helped me concentrate, but I was still stumped on what to buy Annabeth. I watched the waves crash into the rocks below. I was silently hoping that Poseidon would tell me the answer, but no, my mind was still blank, like always, Annabeth would say. And then it hit me.

I would buy her earrings! Yes, I know, like I just said, she doesn't wear them that often, but these would be from the sea, so like completely from me. I turned around to make sure no one was watching, and I leapt over the railing into the water below.

Once I hit the water, I plummeted down a few feet and looked around. Kelp surrounded me, swaying in the current. I thought of Annabeth, and how she called me Seaweed Brain. Right then I decided I needed to buy her a present. A curious fish peeked out of the forest of kelp, and slowly swam toward me, absorbing the fact that I was a human in its habitat. I rose up a few inches, and swam close to the rocky shore, keeping close to the railing. I swam until I was far enough that the rocks were sand, and the railing was gone. I came up to the surface, and looked around.

I was drifting a few feet away from a stretch of rock where there were small tide pools. I used the ledge near a particularly large pool to pull myself out. I sat on the edge, staring at the crabs and small fish darting in and out through reeds and rocks. Sea spray flew through the air forming rainbows. I searched my pockets and finally found a golden drachma. I pulled it out, chucked it into a rainbow, and chanted, "O goddess, accept my offering!" the mist shimmered. "Show me Annabeth at Camp Half-blood." The mist changed and I was staring at Annabeth in her cabin, completely crashed out on her bunk. Her hand was squished against her cheek, and she looked kind of cute, but I yelled "Annabeth!" and she bolted upright. Now that she was awake, I could see that she had circles under her eyes, and her hair was tangled and sticking out all over her head. "Oh Gods, did you really have to wake me up?" she said, scowling. "What happened to you?" I asked, trying not to sound rude, but with my ADHD, I couldn't help myself from saying it. "Thanks for the compliment, but I've just been staying up late." She said. "Why?" I pressed.

"Just been staying up late studying and stuff." She said. "This doesn't have to do with anything, but do you still wear your earrings?" I asked. "Yes, but I need new ones. I lost the back to one of them, so until I find it I can't wear them." She said. Yes! I couldn't believe my luck. Now was my chance to get her new ones. "So…how's camp without me?" I asked. "Quiet and peaceful." Annabeth teased, a smile tugging at her lips. "You know that's a compliment?" I said. "Meh. It's true though. Everyone always admits it. There's no crazy things happening here." She said, smirking. "Ha-ha. And this has nothing to do with anything, but do you like pearls?" I asked. As smart as Annabeth was, she immediately knew what I was asking. "Yes, I love pearls but- wait… You're not giving me pearls. I don't need a present!" she exclaimed. I knew what that really meant though. Whenever she says, "I don't need a present!" it really means "Get me a present!"

"Whatever." I said. The conch horn at camp blew. "Gotta go! Bye!" she shouted, and the Iris-message was disabled. Okay, now I knew what to get her. So I stood up and took the long way, (walking,) back to Seaside Village. I walked into a small shop near the edge of the water. It was old and crumbling, but it had the comforting, nice look. Wind chimes made of seashells were strung around the porch in front of the door. Paintings of mermaids and dolphins were all over the walls, and bottles full of seashells and sand were on the shelves by the counter. I looked around, but no one was in sight. Suddenly an old man with a beard came into sight. He had green eyes like mine, and curly gray hair on his head. He was about a foot shorter than me, wearing a fishing hat, and one of those weird fishing vests with fishing flies pinned all over the pockets and stuff. He smiled a wide smile.

"Why, hello there, young one." He said, standing behind the counter. "Um, hi." I said. "Looking for anything special?" he asked. "Uh, yeah, I was wondering if you had any earrings." I replied. "For men?" the man asked. "No! For women." I said, shaking my head. "Oh, okay then. You have a friend?" he replied, smiling again. "Yeah." He left the counter and walked over to the back wall, where there were rows of pearl earrings. I grabbed a pair and headed back over to the counter, with the man following me. After handing him my money, I read his nametag. It said "Mr. P." That was all it said. No first name or anything, just Mr. P.

"Thanks, Mr. P." I said. Mr. P. looked up, handing me the wrapped pair of earrings. "No problem, Percy. And I'm absolutely sure Annabeth will love the earrings." He said. "Um, thanks…" I replied. I never told him my name. Or Annabeth's name. I turned, and right before I stepped outside, I turned around. Mr. P. reminded me of someone very familiar. "Mr. P?" I asked, but the shop was empty.

When I arrived at camp, everyone greeted me like always. "Hey Percy!" I always heard that like everywhere. I was so special! I came to the doorway of the Athena cabin. "Knock knock." I said. The cabin was empty except for one blonde-haired girl sitting in a chair, reading. She looked up and smiled. "Thought I'd stop by." I said. Annabeth stood up and walked over, stepping over a deflated balloon. Her siblings must have thrown her a party, too. "For what, Seaweed Brain?" she said. "To give you this." I handed her the little tiny package. She pulled off the pathetic sticky note I had stuck on the package as an excuse for a card. It read: To Annabeth, From: Percy. And then there were little smiley faces all over the sides. Annabeth stuck the sticky note on my forehead and laughed. She opened the package. "Oh! They're so pretty!" she exclaimed, putting them on. I shrugged. "Well…" I said. "I didn't think you'd pull it off, Seaweed Brain." She admitted. "I'm just amazing." I said. She laughed and hugged me.


End file.
